A plaque referencing Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain in a new exhibition at Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture has sparked an ongoing debate about the wording used on the display. The exhibition in question is centered around the 27 Club, a long list of musicians who died far too young at the age of 27 years old. Instead of stating that the Nirvana frontman died of suicide, the Museum of Pop Culture chose the awkward wording, “Kurt Cobain un-alived himself at 27.”
For their part, the museum did add a placard next to the exhibition, which states, “We recognize the dynamic nature of pop culture and its role in shaping language and discourse.” They go on to mention that the “guest curator has chosen to utilize the term ‘unalive’ as a gesture of respect towards those who have tragically lost their lives due to mental health struggles.” A post on X that highlighted the museum’s wording launched a debate about the phrase and how useful it is or isn’t in regards to discussing mental health issues. (Loudwire)
